Cost: $50
Location: Zoom link provided upon registration
Description: Helping vulnerable people can be very fulfilling, but over time being exposed to other people’s stories of trauma and struggle can weigh us down. Vicarious trauma is the impact of listening empathetically and actively to other people’s experiences, and the stress helpers may experience when feeling responsible for supporting others through their suffering.
One of the most effective ways that supervisors and organizations can support employees is to normalize that vicarious trauma will affect each of us. At the same time, they must strive to create and sustain a work environment where vicarious trauma is acknowledged often, and where employees and volunteers get support to take care of themselves.
In this workshop, we’ll discuss the different types of impact that helpers experience and consider how to help employees identify the signs that additional support is needed. We’ll also explore ways for teams and organizations to create practices and systems that reduce these impacts consistently, and over time.